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Archives for Teaching Online

Teaching Online

Teaching Online

UW-Milwaukee RN to BSN OER Project

By Jessica O'Neel
November 1, 2021

November 1, 2021

Introduction

Starting in June of 2021, UW Milwaukee College of Nursing RN to BSN Flex program began a year-long OER Grant Workshop Series. OER stands for “open educational resources”, which means that subject matter experts develop content and materials or lists of content and materials for learners to retrieve and use at no expense. Through this workshop, the team learned how to recruit team members and structure content into textbook or handbook resources.

The Flex nursing team decided to focus on the transition from study to practice. Once a nurse has obtained their bachelor’s, what new opportunities do they have? How does the nurse leverage the new degree within their profession and practice? The team is still in the early phases of development, but so far, they have created a handbook consisting of five chapters about the transition to practice for RN-to-BSN nurses. After creating a detailed outline, they focused on content development for each chapter. The team has also learned about various interactive technologies which could be implemented. Ryan Anderson is lending his expertise in the area of instructional design.


Interview

Team member Nicole Marie Simonson was kind enough to provide an insider’s perspective on the project.

Can you speak a little more to the motivation behind this project, or was reducing student costs the primary motive?

[Nicole] ​The motivation behind this project was addressing a topic that is not readily available to students and targets this specific student population. Traditional undergrads get a transition-to-practice course for becoming bachelor’s prepared nurses, but what does that transition to practice look like in Flex? We wanted to explore this further and inform our students about the differences in nursing when transitioning from ADN to BSN. As for cost, students would not have the cost associated with purchasing a textbook.


What learning benefits will this resource provide to students? For example, do you think this handbook is more representative of real-world workplace challenges compared to an existing textbook?

[Nicole] ​​We are unaware of a current text that addresses RN-to-BSN students and their transition to practice. This resource expands far beyond what the transition to practice is for the new nurse. They will learn about the asset of having their BSN and how to leverage the degree within their practice. They will explore additional opportunities that will open as a result of being BSN-prepared. The handbook will allow them to take what they have learned within the program and apply it to real-world situations.


What challenges have you had finding, evaluating, and selecting OERs for the handbook? How have you worked through them?  ​

[Nicole] ​One challenge was selecting a topic with few existing OERs. We did have challenges in finding supporting research and literature on this topic. We found broader topics that were applicable, but little research exists about this topic specifically.


What has been the most exciting/fulfilling part of working on this project? ​

[Nicole] ​Exciting aspects are working with fellow team members— learning about their expertise and knowledge on the topic. Also, learning about how the transition to practice for RN to BSN looks different from what it would for a new nurse or nurse transitioning into a graduate degree with a more formal role. It is exciting to be part of something bigger than oneself and to work with others with similar passions and interests. The Rebus OER workshops have provided us with tools and resources that help support our success with creating our OER.


Can you share any advice or tips for faculty who want to implement OERs into their course, even if it is not to this same level? ​

[Nicole] ​Create a plan, identify your key team members. You will have additional team members along the way, but a core group is helpful as you move along. Set a timeline and goals for moving forward and a means to hold one another accountable. It is great to have team members who have varying levels of experience and perspective to add.

All of us at UW Extended Campus are excited to follow the progress of this project!

Utilizing the Power of Feedback

By Eric Peloza
April 19, 2021

April 19, 2021

Feedback is a crucial part of the online experience for students and instructors. It is valuable for a number of reasons, one being that it allows instructors to connect to students and help students grow their skill set. This blog post will look at the importance of feedback and how you can leverage it in your courses.

Let’s unpack feedback!

Does feedback matter?

Instructor Sharon Frazier, Healthcare Administration

As we know from student feedback and research, instructor feedback is a priority for students in an online course. It has also been shown to have a direct impact on students’ perceived satisfaction with online courses. A study from an online nursing program showed that a lack of feedback caused students to be unsatisfied with their online learning experience (Soon, Sook, Jung, & Im, 2000). Additionally, we have heard from our students through surveys and student success coaches that they appreciate quality instructor feedback.

One of our Healthcare Administration students had this to say about the great feedback her instructor, Sharon Frazier, provided: “Overall, things have been going well. Getting constant guidance from Professor has been helpful in understanding the assignments and expectations for HCA 700. I find myself learning a lot through the discussions. She also provides a lot of feedback which is incredibly helpful.”

Getting constant guidance from Professor has been helpful in understanding the assignments and expectations…She also provides a lot of feedback which is incredibly helpful

What do students want from their online instructor?

Studies show that students feel affirmed, challenged, and influenced when they receive quality feedback from exemplary instructors (Edwards, Perry, & Janzen, 2011). Students also report frustrations with inadequate feedback and a lack of depth in another study (Lai, 2006). When you provide thoughtful feedback, it shows students that their instructor is invested in their learning. Students may have invested a lot of time and energy into an assignment, so putting the same effort into giving good feedback reassures and motivates them.

Finding the correct tool to meet the feedback requirement

How to use the tools in Canvas to maximize your feedback

In online learning, providing effective feedback is facilitated by the tools in the learning management system or digital learning environment. Effective feedback is frequent or immediate, specific, or interrogative (Leibold & Schwarz, 2015). Our digital learning environment, Canvas, enables faculty to easily give feedback with these characteristics.

If you’re looking to provide feedback in Canvas, consider one of these tools:

  • Announcements: Announcements are a quick and great way to communicate to the entire class at once, such as when you notice a running theme when grading and want to point it out. You can also use them to prepare students for the next stage in the course.
  • Rubrics: The Canvas rubrics tool gives you the ability to use pre-built feedback and personalized feedback. You can use the pre-built feedback to quickly assess the main criteria of an assessment. It also gives you the ability to justify your grading with the differing levels of criteria assessment. The rubrics tool also has an area that allows you to provide context and commentary regarding your grading.

    Example of using feedback in Canvas Quizzes
  • Quizzes: The Canvas quizzes tool allows you to give feedback on quiz questions based upon the correct answer, incorrect answers, or for specific selections. You can create this feedback before the course opens, and students can receive it immediately after submitting their quiz. The advantage of this option is that you only need to write feedback once and it applies to every student attempt.

Canvas also has a great analytics tool that allows you to view student performance at the class-level. You can interpret the data and identify common threads from the reporting then use this information to provide additional feedback on specific content areas that have lower than expected performance. You can also leverage announcements to share content with students right when they need it!

If you’re looking to learn more about feedback and other related topics, you can review our Journey to Online self-guided courses! In our Teaching course, the following modules address feedback:

  • Developing Your Online Course – This module explores the ideas behind creating effective, feedback-drive, rubrics for your students and yourself
  • Teaching Your Online Course – This module has great information and advice on how you can best provide valuable feedback

If you learned something new or would like to suggest future topics for us to dig into, leave a comment below! We’d love to hear from you.

References

Edwards, M., Perry, B., & Janzen, K. (2011). The making of an exemplary online educator. Distance Education, 32(1), 101-118.

Lai, H. J. (2006). On-line courses: Recommendations for teachers. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 10(4), 50-55.
Leibold, N., & Schwarz, L. M. (2015). The Art of Giving Online Feedback. Journal of Effective Teaching, 15(1), 34-46.

Soon, K. H., Sook, K. I., Jung, C. W., & Im, K. M. (2000). The effects of internet-based distance learning in nursing. Computers in Nursing, 18(1), 19-25.

Faculty Spotlight: Diane Caporale Interview

By Eric Peloza
October 22, 2020

October 22, 2020

Diane working in her lab with a student. Image Source: https://stevenspoint.news/2019/05/24/dna-research-paves-career-path-to-marshfield-lab-for-uw-stevens-point-students/

As you know, the higher education field had to rapidly shift toward remote (online) learning in 2020 given the COVID-19 pandemic. These are challenging times for all in the workplace, especially for faculty trying to transfer their face-to-face courses to the online format or for faculty who had to transfer in Spring 2020. Luckily, many of the faculty we partner with had the advantage of designing, developing, and teaching online courses with UW Extended Campus, either currently or in the past. You probably felt more comfortable with the switch to online learning at your home campus because of this experience with UW Extended Campus Collaborative programs.

I recently spoke with Dr. Diane Caporale from UW–Stevens Point. As an academic director and faculty member for the UW Applied Biotechnology (ABT) program, Diane was introduced to online learning from her involvement with the ABT program. For this newsletter’s faculty spotlight, we talked about what she gained from working through the online course design and development process as a faculty member and by collaborating with other campuses as an academic director.

Read more »

Course Changes: Out With the Old, In With The New

By Kristin Kowal
February 27, 2020

February 27, 2020

Spring is upon us and growth and change is a fitting topic to explore this time of year. Here are four changes we saw in courses that we’d love to share with you, as well as the instructor’s perspective on these changes.

Adding Choice to Invigorate a Boring Assignment

Course: Introduction to Sociology, UW Flexible Option

Old: Students reviewed graphical U.S. census data and compared racial and ethnic populations over time.

New: Students can choose to conduct research on stratification or attend and analyze a community experience through the lens of race and ethnicity, gender, or social class.

Read more »

Mid-Course Surveys: Asking Students How Your Course is Working

By Amy Lane

February 27, 2020

Diverse group of students holding signs that say "survey".
Mid-course surveys capture formative feedback from students.

Mid-Course Surveys

Now that you are midway through a course, how would you say your course is going for students?  Do students have suggestions that could be incorporated to make it a better experience for current and future students? Rather than waiting until the end of the course for feedback, instructors can ask for formative feedback from students midway through a course.

Although it may be hard to ask for feedback, the fact that you are asking shows how much you care about your students. The mid-course feedback is a way for instructors and students to share and respond to formative feedback, which can improve a course that is in progress and have a positive impact on learning now and in the future.

How to Design Questions

It is easy to create and set up a mid-course survey in Canvas. The survey should be anonymous (Canvas has a setting for anonymous responses) and can be as short as three short answer questions.

To motive students to provide feedback, it is important to emphasize in the survey’s instructions that student feedback is valuable and will be used to improve current and future learning experiences. If you would like to ask students for formative feedback, please contact your instructional designer for help in setting up a survey in your course.

Example of formative feedback survey questions:

  1. What is one significant insight you have gained thus far in this course?
  2. What is one question about this course’s subjects that you still have?
  3. Please give your instructor one or two specific, practical suggestions of how they could help you improve your learning in this course.

Benefits of Conducting Mid-Course Surveys

There are several benefits to asking students for feedback in a mid-course survey:

  • By asking open-ended questions during the course, instructors can show that they are interested and open to students’ feedback, which can help motivate students.
  • The survey gathers the overall student perspective and gives the instructor time to respond to constructive feedback that can be implemented in the last half of the course.
  • The instructor can serve as a good role model for students by constructively responding to both positive and negative feedback.
  • Some students will be more receptive to formative feedback because they will see that the instructor is open to feedback as well.
  • Responding to feedback acknowledges the students that provided feedback and manages student expectations for the remainder of the course.
  • Instructors demonstrate that student feedback is valued with their willingness to incorporate recommended changes into the course and explain procedures or policies that may be confusing to students.

Tips for Follow-Up

After you ask students to complete the mid-course survey, it is important to respond to the formative feedback that you receive from students; we suggest that instructors respond by the end of the next week. Carefully consider what students say and look for themes that you can categorize their suggestions into for follow-up, such as:

  • Items you can change during the semester and when you will make the changes.
  • Suggestions that need to wait until the next time the course is revised because of the impact on the remaining instruction in the course.
  • The aspects that you either cannot or will not change because of instructional reasons (e.g. assessments).

Talk to your instructional designer about creating a mid-course survey today!

Resources

  • More information can be found in the Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I Create a Survey in my Course?
  • What Motivates Students to Provide Feedback to Teachers About Teaching and Learning? An Expectancy Theory Perspective
  • Encouraging Students to Provide Feedback via Course Evaluations
  • Benefits of Talking with Students about Mid-Course Evaluations
  • Mid-semester Teaching Evaluations (video)

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